An Engineer's Perfect Pitch

This morning, I had a delightful visit from a sculptor, Julio Sanchez de Alba (www.juliosart.com/2009/04/my-new-website/), from whom I had bought a bronze of an elephant in 2005, one of 35 copies of his first piece, "Tantor." Julio was a mechanical engineer from Bolivia who got laid off in 2000. He proceeded to teach himself sculpture and metallurgy in the course of creating Tantor. Since then, he has pursued a career as a full-time sculptor. Judging from such recognition as the public commissions that he has received, it would appear that he is a commercial success. Having seen Julio's enthusiasm for his work and his ability to create bronzes of all sizes starting from tin foil models, I think that if I have ever met anyone who has found in midlife a field for which he has perfect pitch, it is Julio.